and the power that propels the enchanted
Voice displays such hidden might,
It's as if the grave were not ahead
But mysterious stairs beginning their flight
Anna Akhmatova
Listen to the reed,
how it complains of separation
Rumi
With an ever-increasing amount of cross-border migration, the peoples of Europe are currently more diversified than at any other point in their history, and more languages are now spoken under the auspices of any one European nation than ever before. At the same time, the regional idiosyncrasies that characterise a people and a place are being diluted by a Western tendency towards a standardised consumer and mass media-driven monoculture. In answer to this, creative work that can both build a bridge between peoples and also help to clean the waters beneath the bridge plays a crucial role, for not only is it a way to highlight the prospective strength found in cultural diversity, but also to create new and vibrant work that adds to the force of the culture from which it springs.
This diversification can be a particularly strong and positive force in the field of music. The great Hungarian composer Bela Bartok in his research into the traditional music of his own country and its neighbours found reason to believe that the cross-pollination of songs from different regions resulted in their subsequent “organic development†and was an essential nutrient for invigorating the well-spring of folk music, resulting in an increased richness of the music of each region.
Why is this cross-pollination of significance to musicians? Linguistically speaking, in order for intelligent communication to take place, the language of one must be absorbed by the other. Is the same thing true for the language of Music? I would put forward the notion that in terms of musical development we as human beings have not strayed so far from the original source language. Music is a common human tongue, able to be instantly recognised and understood by speakers from anywhere in the world quicker than verbal communicative methods and is still traditionally used in relatively similar social functions: for celebration, for lamentation, for storytelling, for meditative purposes, for education, and in religious ceremony.
By recognising these similarities and focusing attention, in research, development and performance, on the potential to create and learn together, we fulfil the promise of Music to enrich and deepen our appreciation of one another and of ourselves. It was for this reason that the Yurodny group was founded, and it is this which inspires us to continually seek new musicians with whom to collaborate.
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Live @ Kecskemet World Music Symposium
Supporting Boban Markovic Orchestra @ The Button Factory
